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On September 16 2009 13:23 QuickStriker wrote:as in, I'm here in my school library cafe doing assignments and a 5 page paper doing this stupid all nighter thing on my very own birthday; raging myself because I got no "happy b-day" comments from any of my 300 so called "friends" on facebook or... o wait, what college I am right? Well, I was at GWU (George Washington University) for 2 years as an engineering major (4 different types of engineering I was, kept switching) and now, after 1 year break from school (and was an english teacher in Korea), I'm now in Brooklyn College doing a Broadcast Journalism major as a new transfer student this semester.... in NYC where my house and life is... One last advice: DON'T APPLY TO GWU!!! It sucks, I hate it, you'll probably hate it, the #1 most expensive school in the entire US, and it's full of bs... if you must apply to a school in DC, Georgetown, no question asked.. American U here IR major glad to hear that GWU sucks lol i applied to GT and GW but got waitlisted by both. but i wouldnt have gone to either because of costs; AU gave good aid
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not to rain on the parade, but the most important factor in applying to colleges is where you are coming from. are you in public or private high school? what's the mix of colleges from previous graduates look like?
if you don't view yourself as a tip-top student, CMU is going to be a challenge. if you are going to be a biology student, don't overlook the mega-large universities, they usually have very strong science departments. penn state, SUNY, uconn, and UMD come to mind.
good luck out there
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I come from San Jose and I go to a pub high school (Cupertino High School). When I look at previous years, there are people who went to Purdue, John Hopkins, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Washington in St. Louis, and a bunch of others. Being that it is California, the majority went to UC or CSU or Community college. There are actually a lot of people that went to Berkeley (more than any other UC)
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United States10774 Posts
On September 16 2009 13:13 FragKrag wrote: I haven't looked into Boston College much, but I know it's a Jesuit college. I don't know how that will affect what I do, but it doesn't seem very inviting. (may be illogical, but w.e).
I think I might consider Tufts though. I'll look into it.
CMU is one of my dream universities. Carnegie is one of my all time heroes.
I actually have considered early decision. I'm not sure what to choose though.
Another thing to note: I don't know many teachers here because I came here my junior year so I'm not sure if I can get many recommendations. i encourage you to not be bothered by the school's religious affiliation and give it a chance. my friend at boston college grew up at as a presbyterian christian, but really likes it there. i mean it's itn boston, the town of colleges. i wouldn't mind living, partying and studying in boston.
if you are considering early decision, you need to start preparing pretty damn soon. get your SAT, SAT subject tests, recommendations and essays all ready to go. if you feel like you won't be doing be presenting your best application through the early decision, i recommend you to not do it. early decision certainly helps, but keep in mind that e.d. applications are usually much more qualified than the regular cycle applicants.
how close are you to your junior teachers? that's an unfortunate situation, because recommendations are very important, obviously. since you can't go back in time and create closer relationships with them, actively seek out your senior teachers and get to know them better. one of my recommendations actually came from a senior teacher. use the time left to be proactive about it, so you won't have regrets later when you are applying.
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sup uchicago here
you could try for columbia engineering they have a higher acceptance rate and have some cool stuff too although ur gpa is low, so maybe nyu would be a better fit. i liked tufts when i visited, but its cold. not as cold as uchicago tho LOLOL
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University of Maryland. Just because I'm in it ;p So I'm extremely biased. If you have any questions about our uni, i'll try to answer to the best of my ability.
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I'm not too close with my junior teachers. Thinking back I definitely should have gotten a bit closer, but I do have 1 teacher I can ask. I figure I can ask a senior teacher, but most of them don't even know my names at the moment
I have all of my stuff ready for early decision, just need to decide where to send it
My sister wanted me to apply to u of chicago, but I don't really want to go lol. I don't really like Chicago tbh, but the university seems really good.
How good are the sciences and maths at U of Maryland?
Thanks for all the help by the way. I really appreciate it! <3
I'll remember to do something for you guys later on or something.
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16927 Posts
I think one of the most important things to think about is how much you'll enjoy living there the next five years. If you're only going to a school because of its reputation or how strong one of its programs you're interested in (hell, you might even switch) is, then you might find yourself miserable for a significant portion of your life if you didn't take the time to actually consider the school in factors other than academics.
For example, you'll want to consider the surrounding community, the weather, the food, the environment, the campus culture, student life, school spirit, etc., etc., and in the end, gauge whether or not you can see yourself growing as a student and a person there. Sure, a school's reputation is a very important factor, but I'd actually argue that actually liking being at school is more important by far. No amount of college ranks and professoring will get you to actually engage in material more than personal interest.
Remember that yes, college is about learning new things you're genuinely interested in and gaining skills for a successful future, but you will also be forming important bonds and memories which you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. Whether you want your lasting memories of college to be studying like mad for a test you could care less about or streaking with friends during a hurricane is up to you.
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Thanks for the input Empyrean. I know that choosing a university in a good environment is extremely important. One of the reasons I want to get out of California is because I don't like it here. I've been to just about every notable area of California and stayed there. San Diego, San Bernardino County, LA, and San Jose. Just doesn't seem right for me, and I like the east coast.
As for campus culture, though I'm not a great student, I tend to avoid being social, and I'm not really big on school spirit. That said, I'm not going to choose a school where I think that I would feel uncomfortable in. I like the bigger universities because I get to make more connections with other people and see other points of view.
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motbob
United States12546 Posts
Why on earth would you go to a university when there are plenty of liberal arts colleges that will fill 100% of your need-based financial aid and give you smaller classes and teachers more focused on teaching in the bargain?
I would recommend Wabash, but it's an all-guys college and that's a 100% turnoff for just about everyone. The acceptance rate is 30% despite that fact, though, so that should tell you a little bit about how good of a school it is. I swear if it were coed it would be as selective as Harvard.
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because I don't like small colleges.
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16927 Posts
It might be a bit of a stretch given your stats, but have you considered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill? It's a great school.
EDIT: Also try the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
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On September 17 2009 13:31 Empyrean wrote: It might be a bit of a stretch given your stats, but have you considered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill? It's a great school.
EDIT: Also try the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Isn't it ridiculously hard to get into if you're out of state?
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I actually don't want to go towards the south. Virginia is like the south bound for me.
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I'm biased as fuck, but come to Brandeis because we're a liberal arts college that is also a university (pretty good one too, on par with Tufts and BC). Seriously, just go for any college in Boston, best college city by far!
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What do you think of BU?
I have done some research on BC and it looks pretty good to be honest.
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On September 16 2009 13:05 QuickStriker wrote:Show nested quote +On September 16 2009 12:59 FragKrag wrote:Columbia is too gosu for me it would be amazing if i could go though. Well yes and no, I once applied to Columbia (the engineering school) and got waitlisted... but you are right, their acceptance rates are like 17%, crazy... 14.6% last year, but you stand a better chance than applying for the college. 8.92%....ouch.
you can always take a shot and apply early decision though. that's what i did; you're going against a tougher applicant pool, but the overall ED rate is like 25% and for the engineering school i think it was close to 35-40% when i applied.
If you think you are remotely qualified, it might not hurt to take a shot
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hm, that makes sense to me
I'm definitely going to consider it because I'm studying like fuck for my SAT retakes. Hoping to get a 2200.
It seems like a win:null decision. Nothing to lose if I do it, and no reason not to do it.
though probably not columbia ;p
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Korea (South)11558 Posts
On September 17 2009 14:58 FragKrag wrote: I actually don't want to go towards the south. Virginia is like the south bound for me.
The thing about Virginia, is that it's not as southern as people would think. Sure, some rural parts in south west virginia such as near University of Virginia Weiss is southern as fuck, and places south of richmond such as Dry Fork are red neck as hell.
But places such as Northern Virginia (Such as George Mason University) and also I go to Radford University which is 5 miles away from Virginia Tech, it's really not southern at all. Sure some of the locals are poor country folk, but everything is college oriented, and it's even an uprising area (getting more businesses and financial companies) so you don't get the southern feeling at all.
University of Virginia is incredibly hard to get into, EVEN if you have a 3.8+ GPA INSTATE. I know a friend who had a 4.0 and still got rejected.
But some Virginia/DC colleges that are worth looking into would include:
Radford Virginia (Gotta put it #1 here as I go here!) Virginia Tech George Mason University (within 5 miles of D.C.) American University (in DC) George Town (in DC) Virginia Commonwealth University (in Richmond and even though it's easy to get into as I got accepted with a 2.86 overal GPA in high school, they are a big school, and post-graduation it doesn't look bad at all (my dad who is a partner for a HUGE global accounting firm just hired someone who went there, where they usually only accept people from ivey leagues) and a LOT of clubs/teams/study abroad programs) Old Dominion University (In Norfolk/New Port News)
Also check out:
University of North Carolina PennState University
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If, for whatever reason, you have any questions about NYU, feel free to send me a message.
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